With the 2024 regular season upon us we quickly close the conversations around the exciting Cactus League play in our Cactus League wrap-up report. Over the last six weeks we’ve seen everything from important debuts, position battles, surprising standouts, unfortunate injuries, and much more. Yet, so much of what happens in spring training is caveated due to the small sample size. That’s why we help focus on the key updates that will matter going into the 2024 fantasy baseball season in our last Cactus League report of the year.
Cactus League Wrap-Up Report
1. The Reds’ Hitting Surplus Turns into a Shortage
Injuries are often viewed as the ultimate derailer of momentum. That clearly has been the case for the Reds this spring training as they went from the privileged situation of having too much hitting depth to now not enough. Injuries to key contributors like Matt McLain and TJ Friedl have created unexpected holes in the lineup heading into the season. Add in Noelvi Marte’s surprise suspension to the equation and the once deep lineup now seems shallow. On the bright side, the cleared logjam of players will allow emerging star players like Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Will Benson, and Jake Fraley to finally secure everyday roles.
It's going to be a blast watching CES launch baseballs. pic.twitter.com/K8EFH4mxH8
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) March 24, 2024
2. The Rangers Ramp Up Efforts to Repeat
The Rangers flipped the script on their down 2022 season to go on to win the World Series in 2023. Key lineup additions of Corey Seager and Josh Jung were instrumental to those efforts. While both players had missed much of the Cactus League due to injury recovery this year, they both made their spring training debut last week and stepped in right where they left off last season. Now the Rangers have bolstered their lineup even more with the additions of Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford as everyday players. The sky is the limit in 2024 for the defending champions.
2-for-2 spring debut for @coreyseager_5. 😎 pic.twitter.com/jMZmW9kGwJ
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 23, 2024
3. The Tigers Surprise with Starting Pitching Depth
This offseason the Tigers made a concerted effort to address their biggest roster weakness in pitching. In doing so, they added Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda to bring a veteran presence to a very young pitching core. Entering spring training it still seemed a futile effort to confidently fill the back end of their rotation, given the many unproven options. However, throughout spring training we’ve seen the young arms of Reese Olson, Matt Manning, and Casey Mize all shine. Also, with the apparent bounce-back effort from former ace pitcher Jack Flaherty all of a sudden it seems the Tigers will have an abundance of starting pitching depth.
Jack Flaherty's final spring line:
18.1 IP
2.98 ERA
37 K%
5.7 BB%
0.98 WHIP— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) March 24, 2024
4. The Brewers and Diamondbacks Go To Plan B for Their Closer
If the last few years of baseball have taught us anything it’s how important a quality bullpen is to winning key games, especially in the post-season. That’s why there’s been such a focus on securing dominant relievers in real and fantasy baseball. This is what makes the recent news of Paul Sewald and Devin Williams’ injuries so devasting for their teams’ fans and fantasy owners. Fortunately, there seems to be a clear backup option on the Diamondbacks with Kevin Ginkel. Yet, the Brewers’ situation is far murkier with three viable candidates available for fantasy managers to select from heading into the season.
Relivers to add after all these injuries
1. Griffin Jax (MIN)
2. Kevin Ginkel (ARI)
3. Joel Payamps (MIL)
4. Trevor Megill (MIL)
5. Abner Uribe (MIL)
6. Brock Stewart (MIN) https://t.co/vMqT4lcA8x— Jon Anderson (@JonPgh) March 25, 2024
5. The Dodgers Suddenly Are Surrounded By Drama
While the Dodgers made national headlines this offseason with their high profile signings, the recent national coverage hasn’t been as encouraging for a contending team heading into the season. First, there was Yamamoto’s brutal debut performance in Korea where he lasted only an inning, casting doubt on the offseason hype and MLB-readiness. Then, the shocking news around Ohtani and his interpreter’s gambling debts has created a whirlwind of distraction and scrutiny. Whether the recent drama affects the Dodger’s play on the field will be an interesting situation to observe in the early weeks of the season.
Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Instead, the Los Angeles Dodgers star claims his close friend lied to him for years and stole millions from the two-time MVP. pic.twitter.com/BLoVNVFxlU
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2024
We appreciate your ongoing interest in our weekly Cactus League reports. While we are sunsetting this series of articles with the start of the season there will be many meaningful updates throughout the season to help you stay ahead of your league’s competition. Every day we’ll have new articles to provide timely updates to inform fantasy managers in all sizes and types of fantasy baseball leagues.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.